Rocker arm stud support device

ABSTRACT

The flexing of the rocker arm studs of an internal combustion engine is prevented by use of an apertured restraint bar rigidly mounted on the cylinder head casting by means of brackets. The apertures in the restraint bar circumscribe but do not rigidly structurally interconnect the rocker arm stud nuts which define extensions of the studs. The position of the stud nuts on the studs may be varied to adjust valve clearance without removing or repositioning the restraint bar.

United States Patent 1 Ridgeway 1 ROCKER ARM STUD SUPPORT DEVICE 3/1969Ansteth 123/9041 Mar. 11, 1975 3,621,823 11/1971 Lombardi 123/9042Primary Examiner-Manuel A. Antonakas Assistant ExaminerDaniel J. OConnor[57] ABSTRACT The flexing of the rocker arm studs of an internalcombustion engine is prevented by use of an apertured restraint barrigidly mounted on the cylinder head casting by means of brackets. Theapertures in the restraint bar circumscribe but do not rigidlystructurally interconnect the rocker arm stud nuts which defineextensions of the studs. The position of the stud nuts on the studs maybe varied to adjust valve clearance without removing or repositioningthe restraint bar.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ROCKER ARM STUD SUPPORT DEVICE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates toenhancement of the structural integrity of internal combustion enginesand particularly high performance engines. More specifically, thisinvention is directed to apparatus which minimizes the deflection ofengine valve operating members without impeding valve clearanceadjustments. Accordingly, the general objects of the present inventionare to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of suchcharacter.

2. Description of the Prior Art Internal combustion enginescharacterized by push rod operated valve rocker arms pivotally carriedby linearly oriented upstanding studs, the studs being mounted on theengine cylinder head, are well known. Due to stresses and vibrations,which are particularly prevalent during high speed operation, the rockerarm studs are known to undergo deflection. Rocker arm stud deflectioncauses inefficient engine operation and often results in metal fatigueleading to stud breakage or the pulling of the studs from the cylinderhead with concomitant damage to both the head and studs.

Various techniques for eliminating the problems resulting from thestresses imposed on rocker arm studs have been suggested in the priorart. Thus, by way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,183 disclosesapparatus intended to prevent the rocker arm from rotating about itsstud. The technique of 11.5. Pat. No. 3,198,183,

however. was found to be of minimal value since it did not preventrocker arm stud deflection. US. Pat. No.

3,430,612 discloses apparatus for rigidly structurally interconnectingall of the rocker arm studs ofa cylinder bank in the interest ofeliminating stud deflection and dampening harmonic vibrations in anengine valve train. However, the rigid interconnection of engine studsfor mutual restraint as disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,430,612 precipitatesdifficult engine adjustment problems. Thus, although the technique andapparatus of US. Pat. No. 3,430,612 reduces rocker arm stud deflection,this desirable result is achieved only at the expense of greatlyimpeding the adjustment of valve clearance since the entire rigidizingstructure interconnecting a plurality of studs must be released from itsoperative position in order to permit the adjustment of one or more ofthe associated valves. Also, as a consequence of the rigidinterconnection, as suggested in US. Pat. No. 3,430,612, the adjustmentof each valve has an affect on the adjustment of every other valve andtherefore an entire engine tuning procedure can become a very timeconsuming and difficult task.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the abovebriefly discussed and other deficiencies and disadvantages of the priorart by providing novel and improved methods and apparatus foreliminating the flexing of the rocker arm studs of an internalcombustion engine. Apparatus in accordance with the present inventionincludes elongated bar means which, with the engine in the off conscrewswhich butt against the top of the rocker arm studs. Through cooperativeaction between the nut extensions and the set screws, the nut extensionsmay be adjusted without removal of or otherwise acting on the bar meansto reposition the rocker arms and thereby adjust valve clearance. Theclearance between the rocker arm stud nut extensions and the bar meansis sufficiently small such that, during engine operation, any tendencytoward stud deflection will be transmitted by the stud nut extensions tothe bar means which will prevent the deflection. The desirable result ofessentially eliminating rocker arm stud deflection is accomplishedwithout the necessity of rigidly interconnecting all of the rocker armstuds of a cylinder bank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention may be betterunderstood and its numerous objects and advantages will become apparentto those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawingwherein like reference numerals refer to like elements in the severalfigures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view ofa preferred embodiment of the present invention,the invention being shown installed on a bank of cylinders of an eightcylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinder head coverremoved;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation view, partly in section,taken along line 22 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1,FIG. 3 depicting the means for mounting the present invention on anengine and having certain engine components deleted therefrom in theinterest of facilitating understanding of the drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, apreferred embodiment of applicants invention is shown associated withthe rocker arm studs of a cylinder bank of a conventional 8-cylinderengine. The invention comprises bar means indicated generally at 10. Thebar means comprises two elongated bars 12 and 14 having semi circularcut-outs in the facing sides thereof; the cut-outs cooperating to defineapertures which receive but normally do not contact the rocker arm studnuts. The bars 12 and 14 are preferably comprised of aluminum and areprovided with a plurality of transversely extending apertures whichreceive bolts such as bolt 15. Bolts 15, and their cooperating nuts 16,serve to retain the proper p0- sitioning of the bars 12 and 14 withrespect to one another and it will be understood that, if necessary,spacers can be provided between the bars in the vicinity of bolts 15. Itwill, of course, be understood that bar means 10 may be comprised of asingle bar with holes drilled therethrough at the appropriate places soas to register with the rocker arm studs.

The bar means 10 is supported from the cylinder head casting 17 by meansof brackets and bolts in the manner which may be seen from jointconsideration of FIGS. 1 and 3. The bars 12 and 14 are connected to theL-shaped supporting brackets 18 and 20 by bolts 22 and the brackets arein turn mounted on the cylinder head casting 17 by the end rocker armstuds such as stud 26 of FIG. 3.

As may be seen from joint consideration of FIGS. 2 and 3, the rocker armstuds, such as stud 26 of FIG. 3

have exterior threads. The threads on the stud are engaged by elongatedrocker arm stud nuts such as nut 28. Therocker arm stud nuts effectivelyfunction as extensions of the rocker arm studs and are of sufficientlength to project above bar means 10 regardless of the relativepositionof the stud nuts on the studs. The ends ofthe stud nuts which projectabove the bar means are formed into a hexagonal shape, as may be seenfrom joint.consideration of FIGS. 1 and 2, for the reasons which willbecome apparent from the discussion below. As may be seenfrom FIG. 3,the internal bore of the rocker. arm stud nuts is of reduced diameter inthe vicinity ofv the hexagonal portions thereof; these reduced diameterportions being unthreaded whereas the stud nuts are internally threadedfor the remainder of their length.

Referring briefly to FIG. 2, the environment in which the presentinvention is utilized is clearly shown. A rocker arm mounted on stud 26is indicated at 32. The rocker arm is actuated in a first direction bymeans of a push rod 34 and is returned to its original position by meansof a compression valve spring 36; the spring being positioned betweenthe cylinder head casting 17 and pressure disc means indicated generallyat 38. Valve clearance adjustments are, in the manner well known in theart, effected by adjusting the relative position of the stud nuts, suchas nut 28 of FIG. 2, on the rocker arm studs.

Referring again to FIG. 3, it may be seen that each of the rocker armstud nuts includes an adjustable set screw, such as screw 40 in nut 28,disposed therein. The set screws, such as screw 40, are provided withaxially aligned tool receiving sockets. Access to these sockets isavailable through the bore in the hexagonal heads of the studnuts. Theset screws 40 insure, during operation of the engine, that thepositioning of the stud nuts relative to the rocker arm studs will notchange as a result of vibration.

As noted above, and as may be clearly seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, clearanceis provided between the rocker arm stud nuts and the sides of theapertures jointly defined by bars 12 and 14. However, any flexing ordeflection of the rocker arm studs will result in the establishment ofcontact between the stud nuts and the bar means l and thus the presentinventionsubstantially eliminates stud deflection and erratic valvetrain operation. As will be obvious, deflection induced contact of astud nut with the bar means will not result in'movement of the bar meansdue to the presence of the end brackets and also as a result of themutual effect on the bar means of all of the rocker arm studs of a valvetrain assembly.

It is also to be noted that valve clearance adjustments are possiblewithout disassembling or repositioning of the bar means which preventsstud deflection. In the disclosed embodiment, if a valve clearanceadjustment is -to be made, the mechanic will engage the projectinghexagonal upper end of the rocker arm stud nutassociated with the valveto be adjusted with a box wrench while simultaneously engaging theinternal set screw by meansofan Allen wrench. Using the Allen wrench,the setiscrew will be backed off from contact with the end of the rockerarm stud thus permitting adjustment of the stud nut by means of the boxwrench.

While a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, variousmodifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departingfrom thespirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to beunderstood that the present invention has been described by way ofillustration and not limitation.

What is claimed is: v 5 1. Apparatus for preventing undesired movementsof internal combustion engine valve operating members comprising: rockerarm stud extension means, said extension meansadjustably engaging eachof a plurality of linearly aligned rocker armstuds. engine valveclearance adjustments resulting from movement of said extension meanson. the studs;

locking means for preventing vibration induced rotational movement ofsaid extension means'on the studs; 7

elongated bar means, said bar means defining a plurality of spacedapertures, said bar means apertures circumscribing each of said studextension means of a linearly aligned array of rocker arm studs forpreventing deflectional motion of the studs, said bar means aperturesbeing sized so as to define a clearance between said stud extensionmeans and the walls of said apertures whereby rotational movement ofsaid extension means is not impeded by said bar means; and bracketmeans, said bracket means comprising a pair of opposed brackets adaptedto respectively engage opposite ends of and solely support said barmeans on an engine. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said extensionmeans each comprise:

an elongated rocker arm stud nut. 3. The apparatus of claim 2 whereinsaid locking means comprises:

set screws associated with each of said stud nuts, each of said setscrews being provided with a tool engaging socket in one end thereof,said set screws having an external thread complementary to said stud nutinternal thread whereby said set screws may be located within said studnuts and adjustably positioned with respect to the ends of the rockerarm studs by means ofa tool inserted into said stud nuts.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bar means apertures have aminimum diameter which exceeds the outer diameter of said extensionmeans.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said extension means each comprise;

an elongated rocker arm stud nut.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said locking means comprises:

set screws associated with each of said stud nuts, each of said setscrews being provided with a tool engaging socket in one end thereof,said set screws having an external thread complementary to said stud nutinternal thread whereby said set screws may be located within said studnuts and adjustably positioned with respect to the ends of the rockerarm studs by means of a tool inserted into said stud nuts.

6O 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said bar means comprises:

a pair of bars, each of said, bars having a plurality of generallysemi-circular recesses formed in a side thereof; and

fastener means for assembling said bars with said recesses facing oneanother to define an array of aligned apertures.

LII

1. Apparatus for preventing undesired movements of internal combustionengine valve operating members comprising: rocker arm stud extensionmeans, said extension means adjustably engaging each of a plurality oflinearly aligned rocker arm studs, engine valve clearance adjustmentsresulting from movement of said extension means on the studs; lockingmeans for preventing vibration induced rotational movement of saidextension means on the studs; elongated bar means, said bar meansdefining a plurality of spaced apertures, said bar means aperturescircumscribing each of said stud extension means of a linearly alignedarray of rocker arm studs for preventing defLectional motion of thestuds, said bar means apertures being sized so as to define a clearancebetween said stud extension means and the walls of said apertureswhereby rotational movement of said extension means is not impeded bysaid bar means; and bracket means, said bracket means comprising a pairof opposed brackets adapted to respectively engage opposite ends of andsolely support said bar means on an engine.
 1. Apparatus for preventingundesired movements of internal combustion engine valve operatingmembers comprising: rocker arm stud extension means, said extensionmeans adjustably engaging each of a plurality of linearly aligned rockerarm studs, engine valve clearance adjustments resulting from movement ofsaid extension means on the studs; locking means for preventingvibration induced rotational movement of said extension means on thestuds; elongated bar means, said bar means defining a plurality ofspaced apertures, said bar means apertures circumscribing each of saidstud extension means of a linearly aligned array of rocker arm studs forpreventing defLectional motion of the studs, said bar means aperturesbeing sized so as to define a clearance between said stud extensionmeans and the walls of said apertures whereby rotational movement ofsaid extension means is not impeded by said bar means; and bracketmeans, said bracket means comprising a pair of opposed brackets adaptedto respectively engage opposite ends of and solely support said barmeans on an engine.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said extensionmeans each comprise: an elongated rocker arm stud nut.
 3. The apparatusof claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises: set screws associatedwith each of said stud nuts, each of said set screws being provided witha tool engaging socket in one end thereof, said set screws having anexternal thread complementary to said stud nut internal thread wherebysaid set screws may be located within said stud nuts and adjustablypositioned with respect to the ends of the rocker arm studs by means ofa tool inserted into said stud nuts.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid bar means apertures have a minimum diameter which exceeds the outerdiameter of said extension means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 whereinsaid extension means each comprise; an elongated rocker arm stud nut. 6.The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said locking means comprises: setscrews associated with each of said stud nuts, each of said set screwsbeing provided with a tool engaging socket in one end thereof, said setscrews having an external thread complementary to said stud nut internalthread whereby said set screws may be located within said stud nuts andadjustably positioned with respect to the ends of the rocker arm studsby means of a tool inserted into said stud nuts.